DISPLAY DEVICE FOR AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display designed as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] A large number of generic display devices have become known from the prior art and are used for visualising and editing processes, for example on mobile agricultural machinery. For example, DE 102 03 370 discloses a method for controlling a user interface in which an interactive user interface enables the visualisation of a large number of control windows. In addition to the conventional overlapping representation of display windows, it is proposed there that when a further display window is activated, the already activated display window is reduced in size so that the content of all active display windows is visible. Such systems have the main disadvantage that a large amount of information is visualised directly on the screen, even when its current monitoring or editing is not required.This multitude of information can also lead to a kind of sensory overload for the machine operator, as a considerable amount of information is always accessible, and the operator must prioritize and consider it to distinguish important from less important information. Furthermore, orientation on such a structured display is difficult, as the screen layout is constantly changing.

[0003] EP 1 650 715 discloses a display method in which newly added information necessary for the respective process is visualized in a peripheral area of a display, while cross-machine information previously visualized solely on the monitor is zoomed in such a way that it remains legible, but the new information is positioned in an easily accessible and thus more easily editable outer area of the display. Although a visualization device structured in this way ensures better orientation on the screen, such systems also have the disadvantage that the multitude of visualized information is sometimes unnecessary for the ongoing process and can thus lead to unnecessary sensory overload for the driver operating the respective agricultural machine.

[0004] An electronic control and display unit with a touchscreen monitor is also known from the beet cleaning loader "Terra Felis 2" from HOLMER, among others.

[0005] US 2009 / 077488 A1 discloses various multi-finger gestures for operating a touch-sensitive display of a mobile phone.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the invention to avoid the described disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to propose a visualization device that only visualizes context-relevant parameters and enables rapid navigation between different menu levels by using suitable touchscreen functions.

[0007] This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

[0008] By the touchscreen monitor assigned to the display of the electronic operating and display unit being divided into visualization areas and the visualization contents of each visualization area being editable independently of the visualization contents of the other visualization areas by means of available touchscreen functions and by one or more visualization areas being zoomable independently of the other visualization areas, wherein one or more visualization areas are divided into display areas and the touchscreen functions designed as zoom functions in these display areas are applied independently of one another in the respective display area and the display (18) is operable in navigation levels (19, 20), wherein the display (18) is divided into visualization areas (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) within a navigation level (19, 20) and at least some of the visualization areas (32, 33, 37, 38, 46,47) are movable relative to one another, wherein the mobility of the visualization areas (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) relative to one another comprises a horizontal and / or vertical scrolling (34, 35) of the respective visualization area (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47), it is ensured that initially only context-relevant parameters are visualized and, in addition, fast navigation between different menu levels is possible by using suitable touchscreen functions.

[0009] In order to enable right- and left-side views of agricultural working machines to be displayed easily and quickly on the display, an advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that one or more visualization areas comprise a plurality of visualized icons and a two-fingered touch of the touchscreen monitor describing a circular movement leads to a mirror-image display of the respective icon, whereby the original display of the icon is retained.

[0010] Depending on the machine parameters, the visualization areas displayed on the screen may contain such extensive information that it is not practical or even possible to display all of it simultaneously. To enable rapid navigation between this extensive information, a further advantageous embodiment of the invention proposes that two-finger horizontal or vertical scrolling of the respective visualization area increases the scrolling speed in the respective visualization area. This type of navigation can be used very flexibly if two-finger horizontal or vertical scrolling can be performed independently of one another in simultaneously displayed visualization areas.

[0011] According to the invention, the electronic operating and display unit comprises at least one display with a plurality of visualization areas and is operable in navigation levels, wherein the display is divided into visualization areas within a navigation level and at least some of the visualization areas are movable relative to one another, ensuring that only context-relevant parameters are visualized and that the visualization, following a recurring pattern, leads to rapid orientation of the operator within the navigation levels. In this context, since the mobility of the visualization areas relative to one another includes horizontal and / or vertical scrolling of the respective visualization area, the operator is confronted with an efficient, widely used navigation structure that is easy to master and quickly leads to the parameter to be selected on the display.

[0012] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the display comprises at least one "work phase" visualization area and one "tool menu" visualization area in a first navigation level, wherein the "work phase" visualization area is horizontally scrollable and the "tool menu" visualization area is vertically scrollable, allowing the operator to see at a glance which tools are available and which work environments are available to which the available tools relate.

[0013] To ensure that the user is constantly and subconsciously aware of which navigation level they are currently navigating, a further advantageous embodiment of the display structure is designed such that a second navigation level comprises at least one "Tool Content" visualization area, one "Tool Menu" visualization area, and one "Tool Submenu" visualization area, and all visualization areas are vertically scrollable. Because only vertical scrolling is possible in this navigation level, the user immediately recognizes which menu level they are currently navigating from the type of operation.

[0014] In a practical embodiment, a quick undo or termination of a selected tool can be achieved by touching an activated visualization area outside of an icon describing the visualization area leading to the closing of an activated menu window and / or resetting of changes made.

[0015] To enable the operator to optimally adapt the display structure to their needs, a further advantageous embodiment of the invention provides for the display configuration to be editable in at least one of the available navigation levels. In the simplest case, this free configurability can be ensured by the available visualization areas in the respective navigation level comprising a plurality of configurable sub-areas, each of which is editable by dragging the content of a tool stored in a visualization area into the respective sub-area.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment, opened pop-up windows can be quickly closed if one or more pop-up windows are open on the display and if two fingers drag an open pop-up window horizontally, this pop-up window is closed.

[0017] Further advantageous embodiments are the subject of further subclaims and are described below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in several figures. They show: Figure 1 shows an agricultural work machine designed as a combine harvester, comprising the operating and display unit according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the operating and display unit according to the invention in different navigation levels. Figure 3 shows navigation in a first navigation level. Figure 4 shows changing the display structure in a navigation level. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of functions for activating a touchscreen monitor.

[0018] Figure 1shows an agricultural working machine 1, exemplified as a combine harvester 2, and its working units 3. In its front area, the combine harvester 2 accommodates a cutting unit 4, which receives the crop 5, cuts it, and transfers it to the downstream conveyor belt 7 by means of a conveyor belt 6. Via the conveyor belt 7, the crop 5 is transferred in a conventional manner to the threshing units, which in this case consist of a first threshing drum 9 and a second threshing drum 10 arranged downstream of the first threshing drum.

[0019] For further separation of the grains, the crop flow is conveyed to a separating device 11, such as a straw walker 12, and to a cleaning device 13, which essentially consists of a blower 14 and cleaning sieves 15, before the straw is conveyed from the rear of the combine harvester 2 and, for example, deposited on the field soil in a swath 16 or widely distributed. Using an electronic operating and display unit 8 according to the invention, which is to be described in more detail below and is arranged in the cab 17, the driver of the combine harvester 2 can make settings for the various working units 3 in a conventional manner and thus adapt the harvesting process to the specific crop conditions. In addition, the driver of the combine harvester 2 always has an overview of the machine and / or crop data visualized on the display 18 of the operating and display unit 8 arranged in the cab 17. InWith reference to the agricultural working machine 1 shown here, which is designed as a combine harvester 2, it is within the scope of the invention that the agricultural working machine 1 can also be designed as any agricultural working machine, for example as a forage harvester or tractor.

[0020] Figure 2shows a schematic representation of the operating and display unit 8 according to the invention, wherein the left-hand representation shows the first navigation level 19, which will be described in more detail later, and the right-hand representation shows the second navigation level 20, which will also be described in more detail later, of the display 18 assigned to the operating and display unit 8. In addition to the display 18 designed as a touchscreen monitor 21, the operating and display unit 8 comprises a first operating unit 22, which enables navigation within a menu level 19, 20, as well as at least one further operating unit 23 by means of which inputs can be made by the operator 24. It is within the scope of the invention that the first and second operating units 22, 23 can be combined in a single operating unit in a manner not shown.The display 18, designed as a touchscreen monitor 21, has a display area 26 in its upper area, which is designed as a so-called header menu bar 25 and is permanently visible at least in the first navigation level 19. The header menu bar 25 comprises the work phases 27 of the agricultural work machine 1, which will be described in more detail below. Each of the work phases 27 can be selected by the operator 24 of the agricultural work machine 1 by scrolling the header menu bar 25 horizontally via the touchscreen function by dragging the header menu bar 25 horizontally.

[0021] At the bottom edge of the display 18, a further display area 28 is assigned to it, visible in all available navigation levels 19, 20. This display area comprises a "Favorites" display area 29 and a "Hotkey" display area 30. In a manner to be described in more detail below, system-relevant information is permanently visualized in the "Favorites" display area 29, and information relevant to the navigation level can be visualized in the "Hotkey" display area 30 by activating the respective display area 29. The navigation-level-relevant information stored in the "Hotkey" button 30 can be activated either by touching this button on the display 18, which is designed as a touchscreen monitor 21, or by pressing the "Hotkey" button 31 located in the first control unit 22.

[0022] The display 18, which can be operated according to the invention in navigation levels 19, 20, comprises, in a first navigation level 19, at least one "work phase" visualization area 32 and one "tool menu" visualization area 33. The operator 24 of the agricultural work machine 1 can navigate in the respective visualization area 32, 33 by horizontal scrolling 34 in the "work phase" visualization area 32 and vertical scrolling 35 in the "tool menu" visualization area 33. Since the display 18 is designed as a touchscreen monitor 21, the horizontal and vertical scrolling 34, 35 is effected by touching the display 18 and dragging the respective visualization area 32, 33 in the desired direction.In order to inform the operator 24 about the currently activated work phase 32 while scrolling in the "Work phase" visualization area 32, a further display field 36 is shown on the display 18, which shows all selectable work phases 27, with the currently activated work phase 27a being highlighted.

[0023] In the further navigation level 20 according to the invention, the display 18 comprises at least one "Tool Content" visualization area 37, the "Tool Menu" visualization area 33, and a "Tool Submenu" visualization area 38, wherein navigation can be performed in each of these visualization areas 33, 37, 38 by vertical scrolling 35. Analogously to the first navigation level 19, vertical scrolling 35 is achieved by touching the display 18 and dragging the respective visualization area 33, 37, 38 in the desired direction. Furthermore, in the second navigation level 20, navigation between the visualization areas 33, 37, 38 and within each visualization area 33, 37, 38 is possible using control elements 39 assigned to the first control unit 22.In the illustrated embodiment, the first control unit 22 has an operating element 39 designed as a rotary push-button switch 40. When rotated, this switch can be used to switch back and forth between the visualization areas 33, 37, 38 and to navigate within a visualization area 33, 37, 38. The press function of the rotary push-button switch 40 serves to confirm or select a selected function. Using the additional operating element 39, designed as an escape key 41, an edit made with the rotary push-button switch 40 can be reset.

[0024] By making the display 18 operable in the described first and second navigation levels 19, 20, wherein the display 18 is divided into visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38 within a navigation level 19, 20 and at least some of the visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38 are movable relative to one another, a navigation option is created that allows the operator 24 of the agricultural work machine 1 to change machine parameters quickly and clearly. Orientation within the available navigation levels 19, 20 is further enhanced by the fact that horizontal scrolling 34 is only possible in a first navigation level 19, while only vertical scrolling 35 is possible in the at least one further navigation level 20.This has the main effect that the operator 24 of the agricultural work machine can already recognize from the movement of the visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38 in which navigation level 19, 20 is currently being navigated.

[0025] Figure 3shows a detailed view of the display 18 in the first navigation level 19. The display field 36 visualizing the available work phases includes the work phases "Preparation" 42, "Road Travel" 43, "Field Travel" 44, and "Headland" 45. The visualization area of each work phase 42-45 is structured to include a "Work Phase Content" visualization area 46 and at least one "Tool View" visualization area 47. In the first navigation level 19, the operator 24 can select the desired work phase 42-45 by touching 48 the display 18 with a finger or a suitable object, either by scrolling the "Work Phase" visualization area 32 in the horizontal direction 34 or by directly tapping the desired work phases 42-45 in the additional display field 36.Independently of this, the operator 24 can navigate in the first navigation level 19 in the visualization area "Tool Menu" 33 in a manner to be described in more detail by vertical scrolling 35.

[0026] Figure 4shows, using the example of an agricultural work machine 1 designed as a self-propelled forage harvester 49, the changing of the structure of the display 18 in the first navigation level 19. Although the change in the display structure is described below using the first navigation level 19, it is within the scope of the invention that the procedure to be described can also be applied analogously to changing the display structure in the second navigation level 20, so that a description of this procedure is omitted for the sake of simplicity. In the illustrated embodiment, the operator 24 of the forage harvester 49 selected the work phase "Field Travel" 44. Each of the visualization areas "Work Phase Content" 46 and "Tool View" 47 is subdivided into subareas 46a-b, 47a-c, wherein the information visualized in the subareas 46a-b, 47a-c is interchangeable in subareas.The editing is carried out in such a way that the operator 24 first selects a tool 50, here the "Field Navigation" tool, from the "Tool Menu" visualization area 33 by touching 48 and dragging it into one of the sub-areas 46a-b, 47a-c of the "Work Phase Content" 46 or "Tool View" 47 visualization areas.

[0027] In the illustrated embodiment, the "Field Navigation" tool 50 is dragged into the lowest sub-area 47c of the "Tool View" visualization area 47, with the activation of the sub-area 47c being signaled by a color-highlighted border 51. If the operator 24 interrupts the touch in this sub-area 47c, a pop-up window 53 opens, inserted horizontally 52 from right to left into the display. In this case, this pop-up window contains two alternative editing options 54, 55 for the "Field Navigation" tool 50. When the operator 24 selects one of the alternative editing options 54, 55 from the pop-up window 53 completely covering the "Tool View" visualization area 47 by touching 48, this editing option 55 is first visually highlighted to indicate its selection, in the simplest case again by color-highlighting the border 51.If the operator 24 then activates a close bar 56 positioned in the pop-up window 53, the pop-up window 53 is closed again by moving it horizontally 52 out of the display 18, and at the same time, the selected editing option 55 fills the previously selected lowermost sub-area 47c of the "Tool View" visualization area 47. It is within the scope of the invention that the selectable editing options 54, 55 are not limited to visual aspects but can also include various functions. At the same time, more than the two described editing options 54, 55 can be available, in which case navigation between the selectable editing options 54, 55 is possible by vertical scrolling 35 in the open pop-up window 53.

[0028] A change from the first navigation level 19 to the next navigation level 20 is effected after selecting a desired work phase by the operator 24 touching one of the visualization areas "Work Phase Content" 46 or "Tool View" 47. If the touch 48 occurs in the area of one of the icons 57 visualized on the display 18, the function or application associated with the touched icon 57 opens immediately. If an area between the icons 57 is touched, only the change between the navigation levels 19, 20 takes place, without this immediately leading to a change in the display structure.

[0029] Figure 5now shows the operating scenarios according to the invention and to be explained in more detail below for a display 18 designed as a touchscreen monitor 21. As already described, the display 18 is divided into different visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47 within each navigation level 19, 20, wherein a plurality of visualization contents 58 can be assigned to each visualization area 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47. In order to be able to navigate quickly between the visualization contents 58 displayed in the various visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47 and / or to limit the visualization contents 58 to the essentials and make them more clearly visible, it is provided that the available touchscreen functions 59, which will be described in more detail below, can be used in one or more of the visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47 independently of the other visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47.If a visualization area 46, 47 according to . Figure 5a is divided into display areas 60, which in the simplest case correspond to the already described sub-areas 46a, b; 47a-c of the visualization areas "Work Phase Content" 46 and "Tool View" 47, the inventive touchscreen functions 59 can also be used independently of one another in these display areas 60.

[0030] In a first operating scenario, the touchscreen function 59 is configured as a zoom function 61, wherein each of the display areas 60 or each visualization area 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47 can be zoomed independently of the other display or visualization areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47, 60 by the operator 24 using two-finger operation. Figure 5a.) the respective image section can be enlarged or reduced by moving the fingers 62, preferably the thumb and index finger, towards or away from each other. In addition, according to Figure 5b .) It is possible to create a mirror image of the visualized icon 57 on the touchscreen monitor 21 by means of a circular movement 63 of the fingers 62, also preferably the thumb and index finger, while retaining the representation of the original icon 57. In the illustrated embodiment, this mirror image function causes the agricultural work machine 1, embodied here as a forage harvester 55, to be depicted on the display 18 on both the right and left sides, so that all details depending on the respective machine side are visible.

[0031] In a further embodiment, the touchscreen monitor 21 can also be designed in such a way that, according to the illustrations c.) and d.), the Figure 5a dragging touch 64 of the display 18 in the horizontal or vertical direction leads to an increase in the speed of the vertical or horizontal scrolling 34, 35. In analogy to the touchscreen functions 59 already described, the horizontal and vertical scrolling 64 can also be performed as in Figure 2 As shown in the example of vertical scrolling 35 in the visualization areas 37, 38, 33 of the second navigation level 20, can be carried out independently of each other in the various visualization and display areas 32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47, 60. According to Figure 5e ) the two-finger horizontal drag 64 can be used in cases where one or more pop-up windows 53 are open to automatically close the pop-up window 53 touched in this way.

[0032] It is within the scope of the invention that the agricultural work machine 1 controllable by means of the control and display unit 8 according to the invention is not limited to an agricultural work machine 1 designed as a combine harvester 2 or a forage harvester 49, but can be designed in any desired manner, for example, as a tractor-attachment combination. Furthermore, the parameters 64 that can be set using the control and display unit 8 can be of any type and include, for example, machine parameters, quality parameters of the agricultural work machine, quality parameters of the crop, and crop parameters. List of reference symbols 1 agricultural work machine 31 Hotkey 2 Combine harvester 32 Visualization area work phases" 3 Working unit 33 Visualization area "Tool menu" 4 Cutting unit 34 horizontal scrolling 5 Harvest 35 vertical scrolling 6 Funding body 36 Display field 7 Inclined conveyor 37 Visualization area "Tool Content" 8 Control and display unit 38 Visualization area "Tool submenu" 9 first threshing drum 39 Control element 10 second threshing drum 40 rotary push switch 11 Separating device 41 Escape key 12 Horde shaker 42 Preparation 13 Cleaning facility 43 Road trip 14 fan 44 Field trip 15 Cleaning sieve 45 headland 16 swath 46 Visualization area work phase content" 17 cabin 46a,b Sub-area 18 Display 47 Visualization area "Tool View" 19 first navigation level 48 contact 20 second navigation level 49 forage harvester 21 Touchscreen monitor 50 Tool 22 first control unit 51 edge 23 second control unit 52 horizontal direction 24 operator 53 Pop-up window 25 Header menu bar 54, 55 Editing option 26 Display area 56 Close bar 27 Work phases 57 icon 28 Display area 58 Visualization content 29 Favorites display area 59 available touchscreen functions 30 Hotkey display area 60 Display area 61 Zoom function 62 finger 63 circular movement 64 pulling movement

Claims

1. An agricultural working machine (1, 2) with an electronic operating and display unit (8) with at least one display (18) configured as a touchscreen monitor (21) and at least one operating unit (22, 23), wherein the display (18) is divided into a plurality of visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) comprising visualization contents (58), wherein the visualization contents (58) of each visualization region (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) can be edited independently of the visualization contents (58) of the remaining visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) by means of touchscreen functions (59) which are available, wherein one or more of the visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) are zoomable independently of the remaining visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) and one or more visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) are divided into display regions (60), wherein the touchscreen functions (59) configured as a zoom function (61) in these display regions (60) are used independently of each other in the respective display region (60) and the display (18) can be operated in navigation levels (19, 20), wherein the display (18) is divided into visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) within a navigation level (19, 20) and at least one portion of the visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) can be manoeuvred relative to one another, wherein the manoeuvrability of the visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) relative to one another comprises horizontal and / or vertical scrolling (34, 35) of the respective visualization region (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47).

2. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to claim 1, wherein one or more visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) comprise a plurality of visualized icons (57) and a contact of the touchscreen monitor (21) using two fingers (62) describing a circular movement (63) produces a mirror-imaged representation of the respective icon (57), wherein the original representation of the icon (57) is retained.

3. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to claim 2, wherein, in visualization regions (32, 33, 37, 38, 46, 47) which are visualized simultaneously, horizontal or vertical scrolling (34, 35) using two fingers is carried out independently of one another.

4. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, in a first navigation level (19), the display (18) comprises at least a "Working Phase" visualization region (32) and a "Tool Menu" visualization region (33), wherein the "Working Phase" visualization region (32) can be scrolled horizontally (34) and the "Tool Menu" visualization region (33) can be scrolled vertically (35).

5. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, in a second navigation level (20), the display (18) comprises at least a "Tool Content" visualization region (37), a "Tool Menu" visualization region (33) as well as a "Tool Submenu" visualization region (38) and all of the visualization regions (33, 37, 38) can be scrolled vertically (35).

6. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the configuration of the display (18) can be edited in at least one of the available navigation levels (19, 20).

7. The agricultural working machine with an electronic operating and display unit with at least one display configured as a touchscreen monitor and at least one operating unit according to claim 6, wherein, in the navigation level (19), the visualization regions (46, 47) comprise a plurality of sub-regions (46a,b; 47a-c) which can be configured and wherein each of the sub-regions (46a,b; 47a-c) can be edited in a manner such that the content of a tool (50) stored in a visualization region (33) can be dragged into a sub-region (46a,b; 47a-c).